Dear Mrs Darbus
by Kassaremidybelljesslynn
Summary: Mrs. Darbus has fallen ill and her niece doesn't know what to do. She contacts Kelsi, Mrs. Darbus's only friend, and asks if she can help. Kelsi comes up with a brillian plan, but first she has to get the old group together.
1. Chapter 1

Dear Mrs. Darbus

Summary: Mrs. Darbus is older and very sick. The doctor's say she could live if Mrs. Darbus wants to live. If Mrs. Darbus chooses to let go, she will die within seconds. Her niece is at a loss as to what to do until she finds a letter from someone named Kelsi Cross. She sends a letter back to Kelsi, in hopes she can help save her aunt from dying.

"Kels, the mail's here!" Jason yells to me. "You've got a couple letters."

"Is there anything for me, Daddy?" my 6 year old son, Zak, asks his dad.

"Not today," Jason says. I can year him walking up the stairs to our bedroom, where we are at this moment.

"What about me Daddy?" my 4 year old daughter Lenore says. Jason enters the room.

"Not you either," he smiles. He hands me my later then lays down on the bed next to the three of us. He puts his hand on my belly and smiles.

"Mommy? What is the new baby's name going to be? Can it be Rose?" Lenore asks.

"The new baby is not going to be named Rose because it's going to be a boy. The new baby will be named Johnny!" Zak insists.

"The new baby will not be born for another couple of months so let's not fight about her or his name just yet." Jason says to them, hushing them up for now. As they speak, I'm opening my letter. I pull out the actual letter part and I'm about to start reading when I look at the clock.

"Jason, you better get ready, you've got a job interview in three hours!" I say.

"Yeah, three hours!" he says.

"Jason, sometimes, you take more time to get ready than all three of us. You're worse than Sharpay," I tell him.

"Oh, be quiet Kelsi!" he whines, going to the shower.

I start to read my letter. _Dear Mrs. Kelsi Cross, This is Natalie Darbus. Yes, I'm related to Mrs. Darbus. She's my aunt. I'm afraid to say that she's dying. The doctor's say that if she wants to live, she can, but she doesn't want to. I was hoping if you could convince her otherwise. I don't know what I'd do without my auntie. Please, write me back ASAP. Sincerely, Natalie Darbus. _"JASON!" I call. "GET OUR COAT AND A PHONE!!" I call to him.

A few minutes later, I'm on the phone and we're all in the car. It's been ringing for what seems like a very long time. "Does anyone pick up their phones around here?" I mutter.

"Honey, you've only on the phone for a few seconds," Jason reminds me.

"Right."

"Mommy, I don't get it. Why do we have to go to Grandma and Grandpa's house?" Lenore asks. Zak shakes his head in agreement.

"Because one of mommy's friends is sick and mommy needs to take care of her," I explain.

"Who is this friend?" Jason asks.

"Mrs. Darbus."

"We don't know a Mrs. Darbus," Jason says.

"Jason, remember, our junior and senior year homeroom teacher?" I ask him. I think he's blocking a lot. I think he was more afraid of Taylor than he let on, but that's just me.

"I don't remember…" he mutters.

"Well, you don't have to. I do. Why won't Gabriella answer her stupid phone?!" I exclaim.

"Hello?" a voice answers. It's Troy. Thank goodness. I don't know if he'll help me but it's worth a try.

"Troy! Something very bad is happening. I need your help. Do you still have the gang's phone numbers?" I ask him.

"Yeah although I'm not sure if this is still Ryan and Martha's phone number. I think they moved but I can ask Sharpay in any case. Kelsi, what's going on? What is this bad thing?" Troy asks, sounding alarmed.

"It's Mrs. Darbus…I think…Troy, I think she's dying," I moan into the phone.

"Holy shit! But what's calling everyone got to do with Mrs. Darbus dying?" he asks.

"Well, I have an idea. But we're going to need the whole gang to go through with it. I think we can save Mrs. Darbus…here's what you have to do…" I explain everything to him. "I'll be at Sharpay's in a couple minutes to explain it to her, and I can get a hold of Taylor, but can you get everyone else?" I ask him.

"No problem. I hope this works," he says.

"It's going to work," I say. _It has to work, _I think sadly.


	2. It Was Hard, But We Got Through It

Dear Mrs. Darbus

Chapter 2: It Was Hard, But We Got Through It

Summary: This is Troy and Gabriella's letter. The regular writing is Troy, the italics Gabriella.

I couldn't believe it. Mrs. Darbus, dying? It just didn't seem possible to me. I thought she was like, immortal or something. Then the fact that she doesn't want to live? That just scared me. Why would Mrs. Darbus want to die? It confused me to no ends. Kelsi told me that we should all write down what had happened to us, after we graduated. She said that if Mrs. Darbus heard that all of us had lived wonderful lives, that maybe she would want to live to see us. I explained this to Gabriella, and we sat down at the computer together, to write down our lives since East High. The letter goes as such:

Dear Mrs. Darbus,

It's Troy and Gabriella. We heard about what's going on with you. Kelsi said we should tell you about us, so here it is:

After we graduated, we went to college, of course. Even though we were still close, I (Troy) still thought Berkeley was too far. I was afraid that the distance would ruin us. One night, while I was stressing about this I wound up at the mall. I went to the Cinnabon place, because I was hungry. The store next to it was a jewelry store. I don't know why I did it, but I bought a ring. I went up to see Gabriella that weekend. I played it cool, like I wasn't about to do the biggest thing I'd ever do in my entire life.

_Mrs. Darbus, I'm going to take over now. So I thought Troy came just because he missed me. I'd missed him too, so I wasn't complaining. We were sitting around, watching the Notebook, at the part where Noah is telling Allie it's going to be hard, but they'd get through it. Next thing I knew, Troy was on one knee telling me he loved me and he wanted to be with me always and pulling out this beyond beautiful ring. I almost cried I was so happy. Naturally, I said yes. The thing was he still had to go to Berkeley. It was hard, since we were so far apart but we alternated weekends to drive to visit the other._

_I thought it would be easy, but little did I know Noah was right. It was very hard. We fought almost all the time. It was so stupid. He'd say my shampoo was too strong and I'd say all he cared about was basketball. We screamed and one time I actually slapped him _(and it hurt, let me tell you. Just a note: do NOT make Gabby mad!)_. We stormed out on each other constantly or slept in different beds, sometimes we'd go to another person's dorm. On one such occasion where I had gone to another friend's dorm, I went on her computer and looked up the percentage of teen marriages surviving. It said that around 85% failed. That was scary and I realized right then that I didn't want Troy and I to be in that category. I wanted us to be the other 15%. So I went back to my apartment and saw Troy had fallen asleep in the kitchen area, making my favorite cookies. I tasted the cookies and three of the four batches were terrible. I tasted the last batch and it was really good. I woke him up and told him we have to try to fix this. It was hard, but after about two years, it got easier. We fit together again, like in high school. _

So about two and half years after we got married I was at Gabby's and I realized something: she hadn't had her period yet. We checked to see if she was pregnant and sure enough, she was. Then her mom came to visit us and we had to pretend like I didn't get her daughter pregnant. Now, before I go on, Mrs. Darbus, don't give me a lecture on safe sex. Believe me, I will pound that lecture into my kid's heads. I mean, they will have it memorized.

Anyways, when Gabriella had the baby, it was a little girl. That disappointed me at first, because, honestly, I wanted a boy, badly. After a while, I loved that little girl to death. We – well Gabriella- named the girl Rocio Alicia Bolton. After that, it just wasn't working with going to school. It would be like we were divorced. I get her one week, you get her next week. So I told my teachers that I had to go. The one teacher really liked me _(I know, big surprise right!? _Shut up Gabriella WINTHROPA! _You ass, you said you wouldn't ever call me by my middle name!) _Ignore the parenthesis right there. Like I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, one teacher liked me and he said he could send me lessons so I wouldn't be behind, then come down to take finals. I could still get my degree. Then, at a game, some scouts were there and said they wanted me to be on a team. Like, in the NBA. Let me tell you, I was floating on air. I was married to the love of my life, I had a beautiful baby girl and I was still going to get my degree. But I had to come down sometime.

I was being an idiot one day and I landed on my foot wrong and broke my leg. The pain wasn't that much it was that the doctors said that I wouldn't be able to play basketball anymore. I was beyond depressed. I didn't want to eat, sleep, or do much of anything for about four months. Then one day, Gabriella came in with Rocio and said that they had a surprise for me. Gabs sat me up then walked to the other side of the room. She put Rocio on the floor then gave her a nudge. Rocio was walking towards me! She finally got to me and threw her arms around me. She started babbling but I swear I heard "Daddy" come out of her mouth. Then Chad walked in and I think I almost cried. I hadn't seen him since Rocio had been born, which was almost six months before.

He took me to the court, and said, "You've gotta try. Even if you fall, you've gotta do it. Rocio wants to see her dad smiling and I want to play my best friend and get some real competition. Please." I'd never seen him look more serious in my life. I took the ball and started to dribble. We stumbled around the court for three hours. I fell a lot, but every time Chad helped me up. I've never loved him more than at that moment.

_Troy recovered quickly. I knew he would, he just needed some inspiration and motivation. We finished college and went to graduation. Everyone was there, even Sharpay and my dad. I was bawling and Troy was trying to act tough, but when we were alone, he cried. He's such a softie. I graduated with highest honors. We went to his graduation. Then we moved to a town not too far from Albuquerque. I got pregnant again and this time it was a boy that we named Michael Jose Bolton. By this time we were about 24, Rocio was almost 5. _

_We've been living quietly since then. Troy plays some minor basketball on the side and every once in a while I mange to talk him into doing some acting on the side with me. I've been doing some research on diabetes and AIDES lately. I think I've found a cure for diabetes, but it's still unstable. I'm working on it, and soon enough, diabetes will be gone. Next, I'll work on AIDES. School for the kids is starting soon. Rocio will be going into the 3__rd__ grade, Michael is starting preschool. We're happy._

_The whole point of this letter, and the one saying present in my life is what Noah said during that scene in the Notebook. He said that it would be hard but he wanted to do it because he loved Allie. It's true with Troy and I. We've had a rough life. It was hard, but we got through it. I love Troy and I'm glad that we got married young. _(However I will be explaining to our kids that getting married when you're young is stupid. The percentage of teen couples surviving is around 15%. Not good odds.) But yeah, I'm happy I went crazy for a while and asked Gabriella to marry me. If we can get through it then I think you can get through this. We need you Mrs. Darbus. Please know that we care and want you to live.

All our love and respect,

TROY and _Gabriella_


	3. It Didn't Go As Planned

Dear Mrs. Darbus  
Chapter 3: It Didn't Go As Planned

Summary: This is Sharpay's letter. Zeke isn't here with her, but he's mentioned a lot.

I can finally get on the computer! Yay! Let's all cheer together! YIPPEE! Okay, so I finally managed to get another chapter up. I hope you like this one because my sister and her friend enjoyed it, so if you you don't, they'll be sad with me. So if there are no more questions, then I give you my next chapter:

* * *

"Zeke?" a voice said from my boyfriend's phone.

"No, it's Sharpay," I answer. "Troy?! Is that really you?!" I squealed.

"Um...no...maybe...I guess...yeah....anyway...I need Zeke and your help," Troy said.

"Sure Troy. What do you need help with?" I asked.

"Well, there's something wrong with Mrs. Darbus..." he started then proceeded to explain to me what's going on. With every word I got more and more depressed. The fact that we have Mrs. Darbus's life relying on Kelsi's plan is the scariest thing. She's a nice enough person, but come on, she's got no guts. She let me boss her around all through high school. After all, Twinkle Towne was her show and she didn't tell me, "Back off, you're the actor, I'm the director!" Now she decides to take charge! Kelsi never made or will make sense to me. But if Troy trusts, her I guess I do too. So now here I am, with a paper and pen in my hand, and I have no clue what I should write. I wish Zeke wasn't busy with his cooking classes. I hope he's home soon. So, here goes nothing:

_My Lovely Mrs. Darbus,_

No, that's not right. I crumple up the paper and start again. How about:

_My Dear Mrs. Darbus_,

No, that's not it either. Into the trash can it goes. Okay, what about:

_Dear Mrs. Darbus,_

_Hi, it's your favorite student, Sharpay Evans. I heard about what was going on with you and normally I'd just ignore it but you gave me my big break, so I think I should repay the favor. Well, you know what happened to me up till when I was in my second year of college, so I shall start from there. In my third year, I found out that Kelsi Neilsen was pregnant and wanted to plan a wedding. I wanted to plan it, so she gave me a month. Naturally, this wasn't enough to make her wedding fabulous, so I took a little longer. I made sure everything was perfect, and although it took longer than she wanted, Kelsi was amazed that I did all of that. She said it was perfect, but I already knew it would be._

_I took classes at night too, so I could graduate earlier. I wound up graduating year earlier and lucky for me too. After I left my college, I went to New York to see if there were any openings in a musical on Broadway. Luckily, there was. They were in need of a Galinda/Glinda for the musical Wicked, since Annaleigh Ashford was leaving for the Chicago production. They were going to have Kendra Kassebaum come to take over but of course I couldn't have that. I marched right up to the director and said I would like to try out. He looked at me funny, but agreed and I sang Popular and No One Mourns the Wicked. He then asked for my best high note. I sang it so high and so clear I swear he thought his glass of water would shatter. _

_Unfortunately, my singing was not enough. They wanted someone with experience so I e-mailed the director my works from school. He e-mailed me back and asked if it was really true that Mrs. Gladys Darbus was my drama teacher. I told him it was true and he hired me. I was ecstatic. I got to be in Wicked! I was Galinda/Glinda for about seven months and I got to sing with Stephanie J. Block which was fabulous. I found out that Ryan was coming back to reprise his role as Boq. It was funny because his character was in love with mine and I thought it would be weird, but it was hilarious. Then I got to sing with Kerry Ellis, equally fabulous. I actually had Kendra Kassebaum tell me she loved me as Galinda/Glinda. That was expected though; I already knew I was the best. _

_After my time in Wicked I went to visit my parents and my friends (or really, just the ones that still lived there which was Chad. Yippee, Chad. That was sarcasm in case you missed it) back in Albuquerque. When I was there, I ran into Zeke. He had come back for a while to visit Chad. I ran into him at our Lava Springs Country Club. He was cooking for my parents but I didn't know that. When I tasted the dessert, I knew it was him. I asked to see the chef, and sure enough, it was him. We talked for a long time and I visited him every day but eventually I had to go back home. Zeke went with me because he claims, "I have nowhere else to go." I think he went to be with me, but who wouldn't? I found that there was an opening in Legally Blonde the Musical so I tried out and got the part of Elle Woods, of course. Zeke came to a lot of shows and I always knew where he was sitting._

_Of course, because I was so famous, I had men throwing themselves at my feet. I loved the attention until one day. I was walking home from a show one day without Zeke (he was at some basketball thing) and I heard a noise. I wasn't sure what it was so I just kept walking. But it happened again, so I turned to look but nothing was there. I walked a bit faster and then this guy came out of nowhere and said hi. I said hello back then went around him. He followed me though so I told him I must be on my way. He wouldn't leave and he was really freaking me out. Then he tried to grab me so I kicked him and ran. I took out my cell and called Zeke to come and get me. I kept running but I could hear the guy following me. I heard a car coming and thank goodness it was Zeke. When I got in the car he looked mad. I'd never seen him so mad. He said he was worried that something might have happened to me. I told him I could take care of myself, but he just kept shaking his head. After a while I realized he just cared about me. When we got to the apartment I kissed him on the cheek before I went to bed. He seemed to appreciate that. _

_I know I told you I'd never be with him, but what can I say, I gave in. I loved his cookies. He made cookies for me one night and they were so good and after that...well, I won't go into detail. After all, you are my teacher. Around the time Zeke and I got together Ryan got married to Martha. Do you remember Martha Cox? Well, that's who he was marrying. I planned the wedding and called everyone to tell them about the two. I was really happy for my little brother. I always thought I would be the first to marry but I was still happy for him. I was also there when Martha had her first daughter and I'm the godmother. _

_We've moved back to Albuquerque but I still make sure there are no openings on Broadway. If there is, we'll be moving back. We donate money to the University of Albuquerque sometimes and I plan weddings now. Zeke does a number of things. We aren't married yet, but I'm looking to change that one soon. He does tend to get a little nervous whenever I bring up marriage but he does what I want him to. My life didn't turn out the way I planned it, but I'm still satisfied. I hope hearing about my accomplishments will make you feel better, I know they help everyone else. _

_Love You Lots,_

_**The Fabulous **__**S**__harpay __**E**__vans (soon to be Sharpay Baylor)_

* * *

Note: There's some Wicked mentioned. Just in case you are confused, no Sharpay did not sing with SJB or Kerry Ellis. I put her in KEndra's place. So don't freak if you went and the program said Kendra instead of Sharpay. There was no typo. If anyone is curious I named Sharpay and Zeke's kids Edward and James. They were both boys. Also, Zeke took Sharpay's last name so they are the Evans family.


	4. We Need To Sleep In Separate Rooms

Dear Mrs. Darbus  
Chapter 4: We Need To Sleep In Separate Rooms

Summary: Ryan and Martha's letter. They're writing it together but their friend from Broadway, Sebastian is the one writing (ties in w/ the whole Wicked thing. Trivia for those of you who like Wicked: Who did Sebastian play?). This is a shorter chapter than the others.

* * *

I haven't heard from my sister in a long time. Not since we were in Wicked together. I've tried to call her but she hadn't called me back. She did plan my wedding but we didn't really talk. Besides that was five years ago, so it doesn't really count. I've done a few things since then, but she doesn't know about them. So imagine my surprise when I picked up the phone and heard my sister's voice coming out. She said something was wrong with Mrs. Darbus and since I didn't want to recount the conversation to Martha, I put her on speaker phone. I didn't understand how writing about our lives would help Mrs. Darbus, but if Sharpay was going to write something _and_ call me then I guessed I should at least try. Even if I couldn't do it, Martha's a genius so I figured she could help...or write most of the letter. I'm not so good at the writing thing.

It turns out we're having Sebastian write our letter. He was here to help us with cooking for all our kids. Well, Stephanie was supposed to come, but Annaleigh's in town, so she ditched and forced Sebastian to come. The letter went like this:

Dear Mrs. Darbus,

It's Ryan and Martha Evans. Yes, we did just write Evans. We're married and we've got a couple kids. When we say "a couple" we mean six kids and Martha's pregnant with twins. But we're going to back up a bit because that's probably a lot to take in. So here's how all that happened.

Well, after college, we bumped into each other in New York City. Ryan was there for an audition in Wicked and Martha was there for a dance audition. Ryan got the part (Boq) but Martha didn't get the dancing part. That suited her fine though because we wanted to catch up. We talked all night and Ryan was almost late for his first practice because he had trouble waking up in the morning. Again that night, we met up and talked late. When Ryan's first performance came up, Martha came to surprise him, even though tickets were expensive. From that day, we spent every moment with each other.

One day, Martha's family came to visit. She said she wanted him to meet them. Naturally, he was nervous (note from Ryan: nervous? Understatement of the year, I was beyond nervous!), but he got through it. Martha's parents kept hinting to her about what a sweet boy Ryan was, and how they should get together (note from Martha: get together, get married, have kids, they just kept going. I was mortified). The visit might have been embarrassing but it was a turning point in our relationship: Ryan asked Martha out officially the next day. They went to the Life Café because as it turns out, they were both huge fans of RENT. They stayed until the manager kicked them out. Then they went back to Martha's place to talk more.

Martha found out about another dance audition. It was a year-long tour. Martha tried out mostly because she didn't think she'd get it, but she did. So off Martha went on a year-long tour. Ryan left Wicked and moped around his apartment and pined for Martha. He missed her more than anything. With three months left Ryan asked to be Boq again, and the director said yes. Ryan soon learned that his sister Sharpay was working there as Galinda/Glinda and was happy that he was there. She left after a while to go back to New Mexico and Martha came back. He was very happy and proposed to her right in the airport. She said yes and they asked Sharpay to fix the wedding. After a few months they were married.

Chad was the best man (his second time- the other time was for Troy) and Taylor was Martha's matron of honor. It was a beautiful wedding and then they went to a small island that Ryan's family owned (note from Martha: small?! That island was huge! How the hell can your family own an ISLAND!?) About two months later Martha found out she was pregnant. They found out it was going to be a girl. Then the issues came in: naming the baby. Charlotte, Cheyenne, Brooklynn, Kennedy, Catherine, Madison, Anneleise, Elizabeth, Emily, Melanie, Cassandra, Seryna, Sarah, and Ashley were just _some_ of the names they came up with. Many more were suggested. In the end they wound up going with a name neither of them had thought up. It was Chad that suggested it at the hospital after looking at her.

"She looks like the baby sister of a girl I went out with. The baby's name was Alicia but I thought that was a really bad name for her. I thought she should've been named Jocelyn," he had said.

So they named her Jocelyn Belle Evans. She was a beautiful little girl and their first daughter. Next came a boy named Nicholas Charlie Evans and later another girl named Madison Claire Evans. After that another problem came up: the twins. When the sonogram came up with twins Martha was just a little mad.

"I thought you and Sharpay were the only twins," she said

"Well...actually, we're not the only twins. My mom's a twin, my dad has twin sisters, my grandmother is a twin, my great grandma is a twin and my great-great-uncle is a twin," Ryan said. Martha looked ready to kill him.

"YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! WHY WOULDN'T YOU TELL ME THAT THE ODDS OF US HAVING A TWIN IS THAT GREAT!" she screamed at him. They both wanted a lot of kids, but this was ridiculous. Martha didn't want twins. So when the two of them were born, she wasn't ecstatic but after a while she grew to love having twins and wouldn't have it any other way. Their names are Max Alicia (girl) and Thomas Jason (boy). The next two kids to be born were also twins named Alexander Christopher and Alexandria Alexis (note from Zeke: they decided to be evil because those two look a lot alike especially since they're both still babies so they have the same amount of hair. You call one and get both because they're names sound so alike). Now Martha's pregnant with twins again (note from Martha: we're sleeping in separate bedrooms, there is no way I'm getting pregnant again!). Ryan teaches dance on the weekends and Martha is the drama teacher at a school in New York. It gets a little hectic, but they work at it and love it.

We miss you Mrs. Darbus and we hope you get better,  
Love,

_Ryan _and **MARTHA**


	5. You Never Gave Up On Me

Dear Mrs. Darbus

Chapter 5: You Never Forgot About Me

Summary: This is Taylor and Chad's letter. This is my favorite so far so it's going to be a bit longer than the others, so be warned. Chad is normal print and Taylor is bolded print.

Note: As for that extremely microscopic bit of basketball stuff, I don't know anything about basketball. I picked the team I did b/c they're close to New Mexico, okay? Don't try debating better teams with me!

Next up is what Kelsi does with all these letters (by the way, ryan and martha's was an e-mail) to help Mrs. Darbus. The suspense!

* * *

I still kept contact with all of my basketball friends. Jason, Zeke, and I still get together to start a game a lot and Troy comes down to play as well. We talk all the time and even Troy and I don't go without seeing each other for at least a week. We're all try to stay close, because that's what brothers do, no matter the distance. There's one person however, I haven't seen in a long time who may not have been my brother but still managed to be a really good friend: Ryan.

Ryan was my good friend. Whenever Troy was acting all weird, I would ask Ryan's advice and he would help. He didn't just help me during the summer before our senior year. When Troy was all depressed about Gabriella not coming to prom and I had no clue how to comfort him I asked Ryan and he gave me some advice. When Troy broke his leg I had no clue what to say to him. Ryan said I needed to push him, make him try to walk again, so I did it. The thing is, ever since that day I haven't seen him. He went back to Julliard and didn't call or e-mail or anything.

So when Martha called me I was just a bit disappointed that it wasn't Ryan instead, but hearing from Martha made me feel better. Then the fact that they were flying in from New York with all of their kids (she laughed when she said that, I'm not sure what that means. Do they only have one kid?) made me even happier. I can't wait for them to come.

**When Chad told me about the call, I thought I would cry. Mrs. Darbus helped me realize my true potential. I really don't think Chad cared very much, he never liked Mrs. Darbus. I went looking for him anyway because I was not going to write the whole letter by myself. I really shouldn't have done that because he was in our room jumping up and down screaming: "We're going to have a high school reunion, I'm so happy!" over and over. I went in and smacked him and told him that he had to help me write the letter to Mrs. Darbus. He looked a bit sad but I managed to get him down anyway. So here's how the letter went:**

**Dear Mrs. Darbus,**

**We heard about your illness so we decided to do what we were instructed to help you feel better. A lot has happened since we graduated high school, so I think you will find our letter very comforting. Before college, Chad and I broke up. We both felt it was the best idea since we would have a long term relationship and those are hard. I studied at Yale and tried to forget Chad and everything about him I liked. I immersed myself in my studies.**

I tried to forget Taylor like she tried to forget me. I focused on basketball and the occasional test. One day, I was practicing my basketball, and I got a call from Troy, telling me he was getting married and wanted me to be the best man. I said yes, big shocker there (sarcasm, yes, I know how to use it...I listen to Taylor use it all the time to me). When I went up for the wedding, I found out Taylor was going to be the matron of honor. I freaked out. I'd finally convinced myself I didn't care about Taylor, I'd even gone out with a couple of girls, and now I had to speak to her and get over her all over again. Throughout the whole wedding ceremony two things crossed my mind: Congrats Troy and Holy shit, what am I going to say to Taylor? Ryan forced me to dance with her; he said it would be good for the two of us to spend time together. Thank goodness he talked me into it.

Taylor and I talked and decided that a relationship might not be the best idea but we could still remain friends. After the wedding we called and e-mailed and wrote letters and all that good stuff. I missed Taylor more than I would ever admit to anyone. For about a year we didn't see each other, but we still kept in contact. One day, I couldn't take it anymore. We were on winter vacation so I ditched campus and took a plane to Yale. I told Taylor that it was driving me insane that I couldn't see her because I was thinking about her more than I was thinking about basketball, which scared me. I told her my whole life was revolving on getting an e-mail from her, not on tests or basketball games. I told her it really pissed me off that she could have this effect on me, but she did I just needed to get it off my chest. Taylor didn't say anything for a few seconds, so I assumed she had moved on. Thinking I had made a huge goof of myself, I turned to go but next thing I knew she had grabbed my hand and we were making out. I took that to mean that she cared about me too.

**Every vacation we would go and see each other and would spend every second with each other. I called him all the time and we were always e-mailing each other. I could get through my second year of college easier than I could my first. After a while I heard that Gabriella was pregnant so I rushed over to be with her for the week before she gave birth. She had a beautiful baby girl and when I held that baby I realized that it would be so hard for them to take care of that gorgeous creation and I knew that if Chad and I were ever going to take that step, we would have to be extremely careful until we were sure that we could take care of our baby the correct way. **

**A few months later Troy broke his leg. He could barely walk and he wasn't going to play basketball. I told Chad he needed to go to Stanford to help his best friend, but Chad didn't know what to say. I called Ryan because he was always really good at motivating people and Ryan helped Chad. Ryan told Chad that Troy might never walk again. One of his dreams was slipping out of his grasp, and it was so close. He said that Troy could walk he just didn't want to. I walked out of the room about then and when I got back, Chad was online, buying a ticket to go see Troy. When he got back he just sat on the bed for a while. He looked at me for a second and then said, "If I broke my leg and there was no way I'd be in the NBA, would you leave me? Or would you stay by my side?" he asked me. I just looked at him for a couple of seconds. That was what I was wondering. Except the opposite: if it turned out I was a crappy lawyer, would he still want me? Or even worse: if I got breast cancer and got all skinny and unhealthy, would he still **_**want**_** me and want me, or would he run away? Did he care more about me than my body? I looked at one more time. **

"**Yes Chad, I would still be with you. I'd follow you to the ends of the Earth, metaphorically speaking," I told him. I wish I'd kept that promise.**

Not long after that we got into this HUGE fight. It was really stupid, and I don't remember what it was about. She walked out on me, took the first plane back to school. She wouldn't answer any of my e-mails or letters, wouldn't take my calls. Eventually, I stopped trying. I got depressed again, and I stopped trying in basketball practice. I finally understood why Troy could never make a basket when he and Gabriella were fighting.

I tried to get over her. I went out with lots of random girls but I always called it quits when things got too cozy. Every girl I saw I thought of her. It was WEIRD! I didn't like it, not one bit, but there was nothing I could do about it. I felt whipped, not a feeling I ever wanted to feel or get used to.

**I also forgot about Chad. After college, I became a divorce lawyer. I was known for getting the people exactly what they wanted. I was opinionated and I knew my laws. Even if all my client wanted was a few boxes of junk, I would fight with all my heart and soul to get those few boxes of junk back into my client's hands. **

**One time, I bumped into Sharpay. I was doing a divorce case for one of her Broadway friends and she came for moral support. Sharpay somehow manages to sneak into the room where my client and I were discussing issues with the other client. She sat down and said, "Doesn't Meredith have the most beautiful eyes? And doesn't Robert have the most gorgeous smile?" **

**The other lawyer just looked at me. I think he was about to yell but then Robert said, "That was what attracted me to her. Her eyes are like the key to her soul." **

**"I always loved Robert's smile," was what Meredith answered. Robert's lawyer his attention back and went on about the land they own together and who should get it. The Sharpay said:**

**"Their skin tones are perfect. Purple, dark blue and a deep green go perfect with not only Meredith's skin, but with Robert's too! They are skin tone compatible, that's always a plus! Because what if Robert looked good in green but not blue, but and then Meredith looked good in blue but not green, that would be a disaster!" I don't think she took a breath that whole monologue! Meredith smiled shyly and Robert blushed a little. Robert's lawyer looked more than a bit aggravated. I was trying to get our client's attention but **_**then**_** Sharpay said:**

**"I don't normally go for the nice guys but Robert is a nice guy. And Meredith is soooooo sweet I remember this one time..." and she went on about how Meredith helped her with some wardrobe malfunction. Robert's lawyer exploded with:**

**"WHAT IS THIS? IS THIS SOME KIND OF SCHEME THE THREE OF YOU HAVE SO ROBERT WILL DO WHATEVER YOU WANT HIM TO DO? BECAUSE IF IT IS, THEN IT'LL NEVER WORK!" Robert just stared at him then:**

**"Okay, first of all, you don't start a sentence with 'because!' That is grammatically incorrect! Second of all...I wanted to tell Meredith I'm sorry. I've been a major ass and I'd like to apologize. If she'll let me, I'd like to move back home and we could try to work it out. Whatever it takes, we'll do it." Meredith stared at him for a long minute and the said:**

**"Well...you ain't sleeping in my room, you'll be sleeping on the couch...but you can move back in. Apology accepted, but you better have meant it!" she warned him, and got up, grabbed his hand and walked out of there. Sharpay looked at me.**

**"And that's how you do it!" she said happily, bouncing off. I looked after her. Then I did one of the most impulsive things I have ever done in my entire life: I called the airport and ordered a plane ticket to Phoenix, Arizona. By that time the next day I was standing in front of Chad's apartment, wondering what the hell was going through my mind when I bought that train ticket. Because (sorry Robert) Chad had ruined it...again.**

Okay, first off, I would like to say it had been three years since I last saw Tay, so excuse me for trying to move on! Well, I was with this girl named Emily when Taylor stopped by. When she rang the doorbell, we thought it was the pizza. So Em went to get it when she wasn't quite...decent. I'm not saying she had nothing on, but she had nothing covering her legs...and she was wearing my jersey (by that time I was a point guard for the Phoenix Suns). I heard Taylor's voice say in that deadly voice, "Who are you?"

"Um...apparently you're not the pizza. I'm Emily..." she said. I heard Em give a little shriek then Taylor barged in to see me. She looked at me, looked at Emily and stormed out. Me being the idiot that I am went after her. She punched me in the gut and ran out. I went back into the room. Emily was getting her clothes on, and grabbing all her stuff. I asked her what she was doing.  
"Chad, I know who she is. She's Taylor McKessie and you love her and have loved her since you were seventeen. I'm not going to compete with that. I want to, but I learned my lesson my senior year when Michael's ex came back. I get it. Go after her," she said, bawling her eyes out. I wondered how she knew all that. I guess I was thinking out loud because right before she walked out she choked out:

"Chad, you talk in your sleep!" **(Note: yes he does. That's how I know what to get him for his birthday!)** I found out where Taylor was staying and drove there the next day. I told her everything. How I'd been since we broke up, everything. She took it in quietly, so quietly, I wasn't even sure she was listening. Then her face broke out into a very small smile. Then she hit me...again.

"You idiot, do you know how long I have been waiting to hear you say that?! Way too long! If you would've just came to see me and said that, I would have taken you back! Years ago! I can't believe how stupid you can be! Is there one that that goes through that thick head of hair of yours!?" she screamed at me. The whole time she was whacking my head. It hurt like crazy, but I knew that we would be okay.

We had a relationship going on, this time for real. We called and I talked about my games and she talked about her cases, but neither of us cared about what we were talking about. When basketball season was over, I would go to live with her and occasionally she would fly to where I was during the season to visit me. This went on for about four years. I'm almost thirty, I think I should be thinking about settling down, having a family...with lots of mini Chads to pass on my basketball expertise to. We've got a house in Albuquerque and we're going to be getting married soon. I'm not sure when, but it will happen. I need to figure out how I'm going to propose.

**The point is, Mrs. Darbus that we never gave up on each other. After everything, we stayed together. If after all the stuff we've been through and we didn't give up, you need to hold on. We'll miss you.**

**Sincerely, **

**Taylor and **CHAD

Note: The first baby Taylor has is a girl, named Lanesha. The next kid they have is named Jade, also a girl. Although Chad loves his daughters very much, he's sad that he doesn't have a basketball star to play with. He later finds out that Lanesha didn't just inherit his and Taylor's stubbornness but also his skill and love for basketball. She fights for a girl's basketball team and is a huge women's rights activist. Chad plays with Lanesha all the time and Lanesha eventually goes to Yale but on a full basketball scholarship. Jade goes to Brown and pays her way through college with the help of her big sister and parents. Jade becomes a vet b/c she loves animals. Taylor doesn't become the first woman president, but she is eventually Secretary of State.


	6. One Big Happy Family

Chapter 6: One Big, Happy Family

Summary: What was Kelsi's plan? Does Mrs. Darbus live? You will find out in the final chapter of Dear Mrs. Darbus.

* * *

It's been a long time since I've been here. I look around the house, and a wave of nostalgia washes over me. I remember coming here late nights with either Jason or Ryan (never both, they didn't like each other much), trying to figure out how this measure should go, or if I should change the music to this so it fits the choreography. Now, all that is gone. All the music sheets and instruments are nowhere to be seen, and it scares me. It's quiet, like the house knows that the owner is dying and refuses to live. It seems like the house is dying right along with Mrs. Darbus.

I get to a door, and inside I hear crying and music playing. It sounds like Mozart, but I'm not sure. I figure this is the room Mrs. Darbus is in. I knock on the door.

"Come in," I hear someone whisper. I go in to find a woman sitting next to Mrs. Darbus.  
"Natalia, I'm assuming?"

"Yes. Thank goodness you're here! She's not even responding to music anymore. She used to move a little. I'm so scared," she moans, walking towards me as she speaks.

"Well, I'm going to try my best," I say. She nods and walks out of the room. "OH! My husband is in the hall. If he gets too annoying, you can send him in," I say. She gives me a funny look, but nods again. I walk towards Mrs. Darbus.

"Hey, uh...Mrs. Darbus. It's Kelsi. Look...I'm here because apparently, you want to die. I'm here to stop that and uh...um...Jason!" I scream finally. Jason rushes in.

"I swear I hadn't said anything annoying yet!" he defends himself right away.

"No, I just need you in here."

"Oh, okay. Just curious, but did you actually have a plan?" he asked.

"No. I have no clue what I'm doing," I answered. He goes to stand behind me, while I sit down on the chair Natalie was sitting in. I look at him and he smiles encouragingly.

"Mrs. Darbus...we need you. You helped all of us, even Sharpay, which is really saying something. We love you. I just..." I start to cry. I feel Jason's arms come around me and I lean my head into him. "I just need you to get better!" Mrs. Darbus isn't moving at all. I get up and walk out.

"Did it work?" she asks.

"I need a breather," I say, running upstairs. Someone follows me. I run into the music room and dig through the boxes until I find a c.d.

"What's that?" Jason asks.

"It's the Twinkle Towne musical soundtrack," I explain. "It calms me down," I tell him. "My first musical." My first musical...that's it!

"What?" Jason asks.

"Shush! I'm having an epiphany," I say. He stands in the doorway, letting me get lost in my thoughts for a few minutes. Then I start talking.

"Think really hard. Remember how Mrs. Darbus used to act, when we were in high school? Is she any different than from when we saw her a few weeks ago?" I ask. He looks at me funny.

"No?" he says.

"How did she talk?" I ask him.

"Well...I did notice she pronounced musical normally," he remembers.

"Exactly! I asked her about her pronunciation and she said that's the way her mom used to say it, because she had such a thick accent! So it has to be something about her mom that's bugging her!" I say. I run past him to get to her room.

"WAIT! What was the point of all the letters and e-mails?" Jason asks.

"You'll see, come on!" I scream up at him. I rush to Natalie.

"Do you know Mrs. Darbus' mom's number is?" I ask in a rush.

"My grandma...she's...dead. She died years ago. Decades ago, even. Auntie Gladys was about my age when she died," Natalie responds, puzzled.

"No. That's not possible. Mrs. Darbus told me she was alive when I talked to her a couple weeks ago. Said she was sick, but she was getting better," I say. What's going on?

"Well, believe it, because that's the honest to goodness truth," Natalie says.

I walk back into Mrs. Darbus' room.

"Mrs. Darbus...I found out about your mom...why didn't you tell me? You could've told me anything. I'm guessing that's why you don't want to get better...but why now? Why not when you got pneumonia in our junior year? Or when you told me when you were around thirty, and you got mono? Why not then? Look, Mrs. Darbus...we all go through tough times." I sift through the papers and find Troy and Gabriella's. "Troy and Gabriella were teen parents! Do you know how hard that is? But they got through it! What about Sharpay and Zeke? Sharpay turned Zeke down again and again but Zeke always came back to her. He never gave up. Or what about Ryan and Martha? They have so many kids, but they're living just fine? Taylor and Chad broke up multiple times, but they're so happy, it's a little gross!" I laugh. I take a deep breath. "Or what about Jason and me?" I say. I take a deep breath, and start on our story:

"Jason didn't have good enough grades to get into any type of college, so he worked at random restaraunts and department stores close to Julliard while I went to school. In my third year of college, I found out I was pregnant. I was so scared, I didn't want to be a teenage mom...like you were. I remembered how you said that the first year was so hard because your baby cried all the time and you never got any sleep. I almost gave the baby up for adoption, but Jason said he'd been saving money, and we'd get through it. I asked Sharpay to plan the wedding, which was the biggest mistake of my life. It took her forever! I was afraid I'd be having contractions while I was walking down the aisle! But it was a beautiful wedding, it really was. After college, I moved into Jason's apartment with the kid, named Zak. I was in the works of writing a play and I eventually gave it to a company. They said it was too old-fashioned, that people wanted pop-sounding musicals now, no more "Phantom of the Opera" or "Miss Saigon"-y stuff. I was beyond crushed. With just barely enough money coming in, I almost passed Zak along to my sister, like you did, and have him calling me "Auntie Kelsi." But I had something you didn't have: I had Jason.

"I wound up getting pregnant again, and this time it wasn't so bad, because Jason got a promotion and Disney took one of my story-lines. It was a cartoon, and although there was no singing, I did write the background music. It's called "Cars" you might have heard of it. It made a good chunk of money, especially since one of the voices was in a bunch of other Disney movies. He had died, that was his last movie. He was really cool. Anyway, Disney offered to buy us a penthouse in New York and pay for the first two months, until we could afford it. I said no, but if they could get us a house in Albuquerque and pay for that for the first two months, we'd really appreciate it. One day, I woke up to Jason screaming 'Kelsi! Vanessa Hudgens is here!' She wanted me to help her write a few of the songs on her second album. Of course, I said yes. We wrote some pretty good ones, and she told a bunch of her friends how nice it was working with me, so I had a couple more Disney stars ask for my help! Selena Gomez was my favorite. She really just wanted to know if I liked her songs and if I could help her fine-tune them. She was so sweet and listened to every bit of my advice. I actually call her from time to time.

"Of course, nothing can ever be too good. Jason got..." I take a deep breath to calm myself. "Jason got Parkinson's disease. They said they could fix it, but it would cost so much money, and he might never be able to play basketball again....we didn't have the money. I tried to write another script, but I just couldn't. I took care of him...made him feel comfortable during attacks. It was so hard..." I sob, trailing off. I feel Jason's arms around me, comforting me. I feel a few tears fall onto my shoulder, and I know he's crying too.

"Selena tried to pay for the surgery, but Jason said no. It was ridiculously expensive, and he couldn't take her money like that. I finally came up with a good script for a movie though. I didn't think it would sell, but my kids loved it, so I tried it with Disney. I called it 'Wall-E' and they loved it. It sold like crazy! We made enough money for the surgery..." I stop again. This part hurts so much. "He was dead for what the doctor's said was the longest someone could be dead without too much brain damage. It was after the surgery, he was in his room. I saw it all. They announced him dead. They said there was nothing they could do, they turned off the machinery. Then...he just popped his eyes open. He started coughing and gasping and the doctor's looked at him like he was a miracle. No one could explain it, it just...happened. It was unbelievable. Mrs. Darbus..." I say, taking a shuddery breath. Jason kisses my cheek. "That's what I call the will to live. Please Mrs. Darbus, I know it's in you...somewhere," I choke out.

"Today is the exact day she died," Mrs. Darbus says.

"What?!" I say. "You're talking!"

"I'll stop if you don't shut your mouth!" she warns. I'm quiet. "Today is the day my mom died. She was the age I am now, and I was the age Natalie is now. She died because she had no hope. I was a huge disappointment; she never let me forget it. My sister didn't talk to her anymore, our dad was dead. So she died. Why should I hang on? Natalie never calls me. She doesn't know I'm her mother, and she doesn't talk to the woman she thinks is her mother. My husband died years ago, and I'm so close to the retirement age, I won't even have my teaching anymore," she cries. "What's the point?"

"You have us," Jason says, finally talking. I turn to look at him, but he's walking toward her bed. "Ryan and Martha are flying in from New York City! Troy and Gabriella have to work, because they barely get paid enough to pay for their house, but they're taking off work. Sharpay even bothered to take time out of her schedule to talk to you!" He says to her. I see the door open and Chad's afro pops in, followed by his head and the rest of his body. Taylor, then Gabriella, Troy, Sharpay, Zeke, all followed by a sleepy looking Martha and Ryan. Mrs. Darbus looks at all of them. Jason keeps talking.

"We're all here because we care. Not because we're bored and have nothing else to do! Because believe me, there are more interesting things I could be doing! I missed a job interview for this! After having me in your classes, you have to know I didn't get in on this job because of my wit! I begged! You have to know how much we care! Mrs. Darbus, you can't die! Just by looking at your daughter...or niece...whatever! Just by looking at Natalie, I can tell she feels so bad and she's going to stick around!

"I had Parkinson's, Mrs. Darbus! Do you know what it feels like to know that you can't even hold your own baby because you're afraid you'll drop her if you shake too much?! Cause it sucks! There were times when all I wanted to do was give up. I wanted Kelsi to pull the plug! But that would be the easy way out! Dying is really easy to do! It's living that's the hard part! But you know what? Look around you! It's worth it! Your mom may have thought you were a screw-up, and your family may all be dead or deserted you, but guess what? My mom...she..." he stopped for a second. He never talks about his family.

"My family showed up all right. I got really sick when I was a kid, and my family showed up. But they didn't say anything. They yelled at me for getting sick and costing them a fortune! When I got home, I still couldn't walk correctly, but they wouldn't help me! My dad wanted me to be in sports, so I joined the basketball team! But no, that wasn't good enough, I should have joined the football team! You're not the only one with a messed up family, okay?! But you have the best friends anyone can have!" Jason yells. She looks at him for the longest minute of my life. Then she says:

"I think I can see that. I...thank you." We all break into huge smiles, and everyone piles on the bed, hugging Mrs. Darbus. She starts laughing like crazy. I squeeze out into the hall. I see Natalie, sitting on the chair.

"I can't believe it. All this time the woman I've wanted to be my mom really is my mom! She gave me up because she loves me, not because she doesn't want me!" Natalie says to herself. I smile at her and look into the room. Everyone's talking, laughing, catching up, and making fun of Jason. Chad and Ryan are sitting on the edge of the bed, talking. Taylor and Sharpay are talking about each other's outfits. Martha, Gabriella, and Jason are all talking to each other. Mrs. Darbus, Troy and Zeke are sitting on the bed, laughing about something.

This is how we're supposed to be:

One, big, happy family.

* * *

Love it, hate it? Tell me! I like Selena Gomez, so I threw her in. And I just thought having Kelsi write music for Vanessa Hudgens would be funny. Don't know about you though.


End file.
